President Barack Obama shakes hands in Chamizal National Memorial Park in El Paso after a speech about immigration reform in May 2011.

A federal judge in Dallas has granted a hearing on an injunction to stop deportation suspensions under an initiative of the Obama administration for certain illegal immigrants between the ages of 16 and 31 years of age.

Plaintiffs, arguing the policy is illegal, include David A. Engle, a Dallas deportation officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other ICE agents in Texas and other states. The defendants are suing their boss, Janet Napolitano, the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

A hearing date has yet to be set.

The Obama initiative was announced June 15, 2012 as a form of “prosecutorial discretion” that didn’t need legislation from Congress. Already about 154,000 immigrants have been granted approvals, that include processing for a two-year work permit. The program doesn’t provide legal immigration status such as a green card.

In his opinion Judge Reed O’Connor said “the potential disciplinary action that results from failing to comply ” constitutes a “sufficient injury-in-fact.”

Kris Kobach, the ICE agent’s co-counsel and also Kansas secretary of state, “The defendants wanted to make the case go away by saying the plaintiffs have no standing,” Kobach said. “Now the plaintiffs will have a chance to say why the directive is unlawful.”

The judge dismissed the ICE agents challenge on issuance of work permits saying they didn’t allege a “sufficient injury” to have standing. The judge also dismissed the state of Mississippi from the suit.

The lead plaintiff is Chris Crane is an ICE deportation officer in Utah, according to the court filings.

Friday, a spokesman from Homeland Security couldn’t be reached for comment. But Homeland Security attorneys had argued for dismissal of the agents case.